Sixth Form

Hiii, I know year 11’s are choosing what to do after high school so I thought I would post this, hopefully explaining a bit more about sixth form to help with your decision! I haven’t wrote this to say you should do this or that but I know a lot of people find it hard to choose what to do so hopefully this clears up anything about sixth form!

Personally, I think sixth form is a great way to transition from high school to higher education. If you’re a shy person, I think it’s especially helpful because it’s a good platform to work from. At high school it’s very teacher based, whereas college or university will be completely different. Sixth form is a half way mark between the both because it’s very independent but the teachers are there whenever you need them so you’re not completely on your own.

Everyone will handle sixth form differently but one piece of advice you will all need is to pick the subjects you like, not the ones you got the best grades in. Obviously you’ve got to be good at the subject but if you take it because you got an A in GCSE, you will not enjoy it at all. The work you get will feel like a chore and that’s definitely not the right way to go about it. You have to have a good interest in it.

The option is open to pick either 3 or 4 subjects. I picked 4 in September (History, Welsh, French and Maths) but ended up dropping one after Christmas because I was finding it difficult to get everything done in time. However, I picked subjects that required quite a lot of time outside of school so this isn’t going to be the case for everyone. Now I’m doing 3, I find that I can spend a lot more time doing the homework in school and can have a free night at home. If you pick 4, the option is always there to drop a subject.

On a positive note...you have a lot more freedom than high school. The teachers treat you like adults and you have more of a say in most things. I’m quite lucky because I have small classes so I have really good relationship with people in my class and also the teachers. There are a lot of people who come from different schools so you will meet so many new people, mostly ones that you never thought you’d be friends with before.

Going to sixth form is something you have to really think about. It’s not an easy option and you shouldn’t do it because you don’t know what else you can do. Although you get good qualifications out of it, look at all of your other options before jumping into anything, and that’s the same for whatever higher education you choose. With any higher education, you have to be prepared to put the work in, otherwise it won’t work!!

I honestly enjoy sixth form but it’s not for everyone. When I was choosing what to do, I spoke to my parents and we set out all of my options and decided sixth form was the best route for me. I think it really helps if you sit down with someone and do a pros and cons list and it should make everything easier.

If you have any questions about subjects, sixth form or anything, leave them in the comments!

:) xx